On the Lam with José Castelo Branco

GODDESS GRACE  in CONVERSAION with JOSÉ CASTELO BRANCO PHOTOGRAPHY by PENELOPE DARIO

From Mozambique to Manhattan, this diva has lived a life between the lines of performance and persona.

Always elegant, often enigmatic, they write their own story—one the paparazzi are always eager to follow. The decades-long marriage to Lady Betty Grafstein drew no shortage of headlines, scrutinized and sensationalized by the press at every turn.

Now, on the other side of a months-long international saga, José is back in NYC—rebuilding after the very public estrangement of a 30 year relationship. The curtain has fallen on one act, but with José in the room, the plot is guaranteed to twist again. Guest editor and fellow gauche icon Goddess Grace holds a mirror to José to reflect on what it means to be fabulous, and to survive decades of decadence, scandal, travel bans, and heartbreak—always perfectly coiffed, never out of glam.

Who is José Castelo Branco?

It's very funny, many people ask me this question. I am what I am. I think I am the most transparent person because I don’t have anything under my sleeves. What you see, it's what you get. I don't have any tricks inside of me. I don't know how to. I don't know to be fake. I don't know how to be politically correct because I feel and say what I feel inside of me or my heart. 

Do you find that since you present yourself with such unapologetic confidence, that it makes people uncomfortable and leads to judgement  or misrepresentation of your identity?

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